Cooper County is located in the central portion of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,103. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Boonville. The county was organized December 17, 1818, and named for Sarshell Cooper, a frontier settler who was killed by Native Americans near Arrow Rock in 1814. It is a part of the Columbia, Missouri metropolitan area.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.8%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Howard County (north) * Boone County (northeast) * Moniteau County (southeast) * Morgan County (south) * Pettis County (west) * Saline County (northwest)

Major highways

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

* U.S. Route 40 * Route 5 * Route 41 * Route 87 * Route 98 * Route 135 * Route 179

National protected area

* Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

As of the 2000

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, there were 16,670 people, 5,932 households and 4,140 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 6,676 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 89.05%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 8.96%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.36% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.28% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. Approximately 0.86% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 38.1% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 18.7% American, 8.1% English and 8.0% Irish ancestry. There were 5,932 households, of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.40% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.97. Age distribution was 22.80% under the age of 18, 14.00% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 117.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.00 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $35,313, and the median family income was $41,526. Males had a median income of $28,513 versus $20,965 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $15,648. About 8.30% of families and 10.70% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.80% of those under age 18 and 8.30% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Education

Public schools

Blackwater R-II School District
– Blackwater **Blackwater Elementary School (PK-08)
Boonville R-I School District
– Boonville **Hannah Cole Primary School (PK-02) **David Barton Elementary School (03-05) **Laura Speed Elliott Middle School (06-08) **Boonville High School (09-12)
Cooper County R-IV School District
– Bunceton **Bunceton Elementary School (K-06) **Bunceton High School (07-12)
Otterville R-VI School District
– Otterville **Otterville Elementary School (K-06) **Otterville High School (07-12)
Pilot Grove C-4 School District
– Pilot Grove **Pilot Grove Elementary School (PK-05) **Pilot Grove Middle School (06-08) **Pilot Grove High School (09-12)
Prairie Home R-V School District
– Prairie Home **Prairie Home Elementary School (K-06) **Prairie Home High School (07-12)

Private schools

Saints Peter & Paul School
– Boonville (K-09) –

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

*Zion Lutheran School – Bunceton (02-08) –

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

St. Joseph Elementary School
– Pilot Grove (02-09) –

Public libraries

*Boonville/Cooper Branch Library

Politics

Local

The Republican Party completely controls politics at the local level in Cooper County. Republicans hold all of the elected positions in the county.

State

Cooper County is divided into three legislative districts in the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

, all of which elected Republicans, but one is currently vacant. *District 47 �
Chuck Basye
(R- Rocheport). Consists of areas east of the city of Boonville. *District 48 — Tim Taylor (politician) (R- Bunceton). Consists of the communities of Blackwater, Boonville, Bunceton, Otterville, and Pilot Grove. *District 50 — Sara Walsh. (R- Ashland). Consists of the community of Prairie Home and much of the rest of the eastern portion of the county. All of Cooper County is a part of Missouri's 19th District in the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 181,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

and is currently represented b
Caleb Rowden
(R- Columbia).

Federal

All of Cooper County is included in Missouri's 4th Congressional District and is currently represented by

Vicky Hartzler Vicky Jo Hartzler (née Zellmer; born October 13, 1960) is an American politician and businesswoman who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party (United Sta ...

(R- Harrisonville) in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Communities

Cities

* Blackwater * Boonville (county seat) * Bunceton * Otterville * Pilot Grove * Prairie Home

Villages

* Windsor Place * Wooldridge

Unincorporated communities

* Bellair * Billingsville * Chouteau Springs * Clarks Fork * Clifton City * Harriston * Lamine * Lone Elm * New Lebanon * Overton * Pisgah * Pleasant Green *

Speed In kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a non-negative scalar quantity. Intro ...

Townships

Cooper County is divided into 14 townships: * Blackwater * Boonville * Clark Fork * Clear Creek * Kelly * Lamine *

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

* North Moniteau * Otterville *

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

* Pilot Grove * Prairie Home * Saline * South Moniteau

Notable person

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboar ...

was born in Cooper County.

References

External links

Cooper County Information from MO-River.Net

from

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books
Cooper County Sheriff's Office
{{authority control 1818 establishments in Missouri Territory Populated places established in 1818 Missouri counties on the Missouri River Columbia metropolitan area (Missouri)